Physicists Have Successfully Achieved Early Stages Of A New, Solid State Of Hydrogen

1/14/2016

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Physicists from the UK have discovered the initial
stages of a hydrogen phase called as Phase V for the first time ever in the lab. They exposed
hydrogen molecules in a pressure that is 3 million times more than that of
Earth’s atmospheric pressure. Research shows that it is a metallic form of
hydrogen. This was also predicted in the early 1935 but it could not get much
acceptance as it was not recreated in the laboratory. It is considered that
this metallic form of hydrogen can conduct electricity without any electrical resistance. This hydrogen metal is found in Jupiter and Saturn in huge
quantities.

The researcher Eugene Gregoryanz from theUniversity of Edinburgh says "The past 30 years of the high-pressure
research came across with many assertions about the creation of metallic
hydrogen in the laboratory, but all these were negated later. Our research
demonstrates the first experimental verification that hydrogen could act as it
was considered earlier, but at much higher pressure than it was supposed. The discovery
will help to move forward in the fundamental and planetary sciences." Gregoryanz and his team used diamond anvils in a
normal environment to exert an extreme pressure of over 380 GigaPascal to
hydrogen molecules. To set it in interpretation, one Giga Pascal is equals to
10,000 Earth’s atmospheric pressure. And this is the highest pressure that’s
ever been attained in lab by humans.

This unconvincing high pressure can alter the
chemical bonds in the hydrogen molecules, and give rise to a new solid phase -
Phase V. At this point of time, the molecules commence to split up into single
atoms and their electrons start to act like that of metals instead of gases.

John
Timmer describes that hydrogen generally occurs in molecular form having two
atoms sharing their electrons. This bond keeps the electrons from circulating
freely and defines the properties of molecules. These properties include
the wavelengths of light it absorbs. Making a metal terminates that bond and
hence changes the properties.

The
team says at the time when they haven’t realized a fully metallic state of
hydrogen, they’ve observed the early phases-the beginning of the predicted
metallic hydrogen. This proposed that more high pressure is needed to attain
pure metallic hydrogen, but diamond anvils might not be enough

Arthur
Ruoff, a high-pressure physicist at Cornell University said "Hydrogen is
the simplest atom, the simplest molecule, and it could be the most complex
elemental solid".

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